


Depths of Despair (Sinking Deeper)

by SilvertonguedClotpole



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst, Don't copy to another site, Drowning, Ghosts, Hurt Klaus Hargreeves, Hurt/Comfort, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, POV Multiple, Panic Attacks, Protective Siblings, SO, Suicidal Thoughts, Temporary Character Death, The death is Klaus, i just like to hurt klaus. i'm sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-08-12 02:16:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20125084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilvertonguedClotpole/pseuds/SilvertonguedClotpole
Summary: Maybe jumping into the reservoir to escape their pursuers wasn't so good an idea. Klaus usually finds peace and beauty beneath the depths of water, until now. Klaus' ghosts manifest at precisely the wrong time and the weight of his demons drags him down- literally!-They clawed at him, trying to get a hold on his ankles and wrists and waist. Their dead eyes, devoid of colour and glazed over, stared up at him, a horrifying plea for him to help them.-





	1. Luther: Leaps and Promises

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger Warnings for Drowning. TW for mentions/discussion of dark thoughts. I'll be honest, not a lot of plot just another case of the writer liking to hurt her favourite character. Sorry Klaus.  
The usual, no beta, no copyright intended, not my characters, blah. Hope you enjoy.

"You can't be serious!?" Allison screamed over the wind and rain, her hair whipping out around her. "It's suicidal!"

"Do you have any better ideas Ally?" Diego yelled just as loudly back.

Luther looked behind him to the woodland they had just ran from. There was no sign of their pursuers, no lights flashing through the branches apart from the occasional flare of lightning. They'd managed to jump a few times, giving them a good lead on whoever they had pissed off this time, but Five had ran out of juice, barely able to jump himself a metre ahead nevermind the whole group. His powers had improved, just as Vanya's and Klaus' had, with all three now able to control and sustain themselves much better.

But now they found themselves on a cliff edge (literally!), a straight drop into a reservoir between them and freedom. It wasn't a huge drop, but they had no idea what was below them, and in this weather they could easily be blown back into the face of the rock wall.

"We could just hide in the woods?" Vanya half stated, half asked.

"They know what direction we took, there was only one logical way to go. If we stay in there we'll be running all day and night. And then they'll get the dogs."

Klaus exclaimed his frustration to the sky beside Luther. "Sssh."

"Oh ssshhh yourself!" The séance bit back. 

"Guys!" Allison's mom voice came out. "Not here!"

"So, we jump in the water and risk our lives." Klaus turned to the spot beside him, obviously Ben. "I'm reading that right, right?" Ben must have said something and Klaus turned back to them. "Yeah, Ben agrees it's stupid." 

"Then what does Ben suggest? Hmm." Five was losing his patience, he was very much like a child in that respect, getting cranky when he was tired. As a child and an old man would- huh, weird.

Luther looked back again, paranoid he could hear distant voices and sounds on the wind that weren't from the increasingly bad weather. "If we're jumping, we have to do it sooner rather than later!"

"I can't see any rocks, it looks pretty deep down there. As long as we jump as far from the wall as possible, I think we'll be ok." Allison had grabbed the back of Five's tunic as he dangerously peered over the side.

"Oh yeah. You can see that can you Five!? You can see _anything _down there!?" Klaus exaggerated his movements, as per usual, with his arms flapping out and spanning the space around them. He stopped suddenly though and turned back to Ben. "Oh." He exclaimed.

"What!?" A chorus asked.

"Yeah. Ben said they're getting closer. But...seem to be searching the woods nearer the roads." He pointed back toward the seemingly abandoned warehouses they had ran from. It was a good distance away, and doubling back on their route taken, but it was still a little close for comfort. "And Diego's right. They have dogs."

"Shiiit!" Luther looked back over the side, weighing up the options. "We've got to. It's the best way out."

"Best way out of life maybe!"

"Look, Allison. I hate it! I don't want to jump either, but..."

"We've gotta go!" Five stalked away from the edge and bent his legs, ready to run. "Tuck your legs in and try dive bomb it."

Luther was about to retort something about 'great advice' with his tongue in cheek when Five sped past them and threw himself off the cliff. They all ran to the side and watched him drop below the surface, the splash looking too small from up here.

"Fuck it." Diego was next, repeating Five's actions and taking a running jump.

Then Allison and Vanya jumped together, hands entwined until just before they hit the water when they tucked everything in.

"Ok Klaus, now you!"

"Woah, what. No! I'm not having you land on me and kill me."

Luther tried not to take too much offense, brushing off his brother's usual jesting. "I'll jump further down. Don't worry, I won't crush you."

He knew Klaus was trying to hold off his own jump, with his hands clenching and unclenching at his sides and his foot tapping on the spot.

"Klaus..." It took half a minute for him to win back his brother's attention and when he did he had taken to biting his nails with eyes wide and terrified. "You love water. It'll be fine. I promise."

He spoke the words, praying he wouldn't come to regret them.

Klaus' curls bobbed as he nodded, tics and trembles springing up in his movements. "Yeah. Yeah...fine, it'll be fine. I love water. Just like having a bath right."

"Right! Remember that time you jumped off the balcony into the pool? Just like that!"

"I mean, I nearly broke my legs but yeah, alright. Thrill ride, phew what a rush! I'll feel alive. Be like the drugs without the drugs...ok, won't bring those up again. Too soon? Too soon! Yeah, I could do with a bath anyway."

He was rambling and his body wasn't exactly moving because of the wind and rain anymore, he was just so on edge.

Luther looked down one final time. "Want me to go first?"

"No. No I got it big guy. I'll see you down there. Race you to the beach!"

The 'beach' was a patch of ground that ran along the far wall of the reservoir and looked more mud than anything. "Yeah. Loser has to clean the tiles in the entrance hall with a toothbrush!"

Klaus' face split into a grin. "Deal. Hope you have kneepads!"

Before either of them had time to think anymore Klaus ran forward and disappeared over the side.

Luther saw him go under and followed.


	2. Klaus: Going Under

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At first, Klaus finds solace within the depths of the water. It engulfs and embraces him until the ghosts take hold and his demons truly weigh him down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to re-iterate the warnings for TW drowning, I know some react when reading/witnessing others struggling to breath. Also slight mention of dark thoughts/suicide.

The water swallowed him up like no bath ever could. Sounds muffled and rippled around him, quenching the habitual screams to strange, distant mumbles. It was no less haunting, just another sound to assault his senses but anything was better than the everyday horrors. His vision blurred too; the dulled lights of the dreary day became disfigured ripples around him, illuminated only by the odd flashes of lightning screeching through the sky above him. He knew this should terrify him, that he should be panicking and kicking back up to the surface but he had always found solace in water, the effects sometimes as soothing as the drugs. His body was weightless- a sensation he only ever got close to in the undersized bathtub- and he allowed his body to be taken wherever the currents took it, the water encompassing his being. This could be what flying feels like, only heavier. He couldn't stop the way he relaxed into what was happening, letting his eyes close and his head fall back until he was at peace. _You're drowning!_ He could almost hear Ben with him, but surely good ol' Casper wouldn't have followed him down here.

_I'm drowning! Help me!_ That wasn't Klaus. Ben? Why would Ben say such a stupid thing? Maybe he was just being melodramatic- "_Well where have I learnt that from, I wonder!?"-_ and trying to gain Klaus' attention.

_I can't breath! _

_Save me._

_Take my boy, let him live._

_I didn't mean to fall._

_I thought all the pain would go away. It didn't. _

_They dumped me in here. Get me out._

_My sister jumped. I followed._

Klaus then realised he wasn't hearing his newly dramatic brother's jokes, but the cries and pleas of those already in the water. Screams turned to gurgles and cries were cut off by lungfulls of water, the liquid audibly filling throats and mouths around him. Filling airways that should not be there!

Instantly his eyes flared open again, focusing too slowly on the figures around him. They clawed at him, trying to get a hold on his ankles and wrists and waist. Their dead eyes, devoid of colour and glazed over, stared up at him, a horrifying plea for him to help them. His own hands had already found his ears, covering them to drown (ha!) it all out. The burn in his lungs was growing stronger and however much he practiced holding his breath in the bath, it could never be enough to stop him from drowning; he had already been down here too long- though he knew full well it felt longer than it actually had been. Looking up toward the surface he saw the legs of his siblings kicking and treading water, so maybe he wasn't as far down as he thought. It wouldn't take him long to push himself up, just a few kicks and the ghosts would go away. The heaviness and tug of water which he had welcomed just moments before now moved against him, his body not reacting quick enough. His arms felt like lead weights were attached to them, his legs now moulded in cement blocks. The burning in his lungs grew worse, and the desperation for a breath of air became far too apparent. The ghosts grew more vivid, their skin now resembling the wrinkled blue of recently drowned people, with some even bloated from a lengthier stay in their watery grave.

Klaus panicked.

Drowning was apparently no big deal but drowning being surrounded by his demons was blood curdling. He'd probably scream and throw up if he could.

The urge not to open his mouth, to take in a breath for air or to scream, grew worse and he didn't seem to be making any movement in his ascent. His own arms soon resembled those around him, reaching and clawing upward, trying to get his siblings' attention, trying to break the surface.

As he looked up, the silhouettes growing darker and more misshapen as the seconds passed, his vision was drawn by a soft blue light. At first, a small part of him laughed about him 'seeing the light', about his body finally giving in and following the tunnel to eternity. But it was only when a sharp pain stabbed at his ankle that he realised the light was not peace, it was hell. The blue glow flowed down his arms like smoke, twirling and writhing around his wrist and forearm and flaring out with silent hisses licking the water around them. The pain on his ankle worsened, resembling one of Luther's death grips. Klaus knew he was in trouble when he began to descend once more into the reservoir, the images above growing distant and the shapes of his siblings becoming black blobs above him. It was almost instinct that made him look down, the desperation to be rid of his unwanted anchor making him look to find the issue. His eyes landed on one of the many figures and his heart almost burst from his chest- the ghost, an old woman with bloated fingers and a ghastly slash across her skull, had finally caught hold of his ankle. He couldn't begin to think how she had such energy, such power to have as strong a hold of him as she did. Even in life she should have been too weak.

And then it wasn't just the old woman. Then it was a huge man- a little smaller than Luther's original size- holding onto Klaus' waist, dragging him into an almost horizontal position. A little boy and his mother clung onto either of his arms, occasionally loosing grip and scratching their way back. Even in the worsening light Klaus could see marks forming on his skin.

By now his entire chest was on fire, his lungs protesting from lack of oxygen, stretching themselves to the absolute limit and blaring out for air. And his heart shattered, the pain of the spirits around him working their way into his psyche, the emotions bleeding into his own mind. Pure panic and anxiety snaked their way around his chest, squeezing and cutting off any other chance of respite.

The water was now almost black and his entire body was freezing. He couldn't distinguish his own blue mottled flesh from that of the ghosts anymore, regardless of the glow from his powers.

_Ben! _He begged to no-one. To any 'God' listening.

_Diego..._

His mind was wasting away, all sensations becoming numb and distant. He could feel his body all at once and not at all, some petrifying contradiction of sensation. Klaus was floating, but weighed down- being _dragged _down- and he was scared but accepting of his fate.

One last burst of energy had him clawing at his own head, his hands reaching for his ears to drown out the thumping of his heart and the voices of the dead. They were yelling again and if he was to die, he wanted to do it peacefully.

At some point he had closed his eyes again, the darkness behind his eyelids making no difference to the darkness around him. As he opened them one last time, he came face to face with a young man who he instantly knew had taken his own life. The pain in his eyes was akin to what Klaus felt inside and the miraculously clear tears on his face stood out from the water around them. The sadness soon turned to anger, the victim angry at his failed attempt to stop his suffering. He lunged at Klaus, arms outstretched and aiming right for Klaus' throat. Impulse took over with Klaus' mind too slow to process and he opened his mouth in a silent scream, jerking back but moving nowhere as his ghoulish weights weighed him down. Water rushed into his mouth, down his throat and into his desperate lungs. His body spasmed and his insides burnt, everything rejecting the intake of water.

The world around him blackened as he felt one final hand latch onto him, a hand that felt different from the others, still as tight and cold, but somehow more safe. 

It would be a long time before he had a bath again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the kudos/comments this has already received, I hope you continue to enjoy it. Or to new readers, thank you for taking a look and I hope you also enjoy.


	3. Ben: Helplessness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben does all he can do in the situation- look on as they drag their brother from the water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of the shorter chapters, I did know some would be shorter than others but I didn't want to tag the next bit on just yet. Poor Benny!

Ben watched as Luther broke the surface of the reservoir, a limp figure in his arms. He could feel his hold on this world weakening, just as he had during the many overdoses or trips to the hospital whilst Klaus lived on the streets, and just how he had the time his brother's head smashed sickeningly onto the nightclub's floor. Ben knew Klaus was dead.

Would he come back from this too?

The nonexistent heart in his chest stopped and the imagined breath was stolen from his lungs. The monsters in his stomach writhed and churned and his knees wobbled beneath him.

He had watched them all go in, jumping off the cliff one by one and hoping they all landed alright.

He had watched as one by one they broke the surface, the odd cut here and there or off colour skin and lips but mostly intact.

He had watched as they made their way to the bank, out of sight of the woods and any persistent pursuers, before realising that one had not made it back. They had waited a minute, giving Klaus credit, and then another minute, before Luther threw off his overcoat and ran back into the cold waters exclaiming _"I promised him"_.

It was as they saw Luther take the plunge that Ben felt something snap and he knew instantly what had happened. However many times it had now happened, it didn't scare him any less. In all honesty, he wasn't sure what scared him most. The idea of losing Klaus, or his connection with the world. If Klaus died, Ben would lose everybody else.

So now he watched as the siblings ran toward Luther, whose great bulk was wading too slowly out of the water, weighed down by his mass. Weighed down by his grief.

Luther tried to drag Klaus higher, as if lifting him from the water would help, but both their frames sagged as Number One sobbed. "I was too late. I...I was too late again."

Diego raced forward and took Klaus from their brother's arms, carrying him in a sloppy bridal style onto the dry ground. Ben looked down just as his siblings did, all in varying states of shock and anguish. They looked on as Diego began arranging Klaus' body flat with his chin raised upward.

"Come on Number Four. Come on!" He said, more to himself than the brother below him, just as he began the first compressions.

Ben imagined he felt the harsh presses on his own chest, the warm air being forced into his own lungs, but he knew it was wishful thinking.

As the storm moved on, with the odd flash of lightning on the horizon, a little sun began to peak from the clouds. It lit up Klaus' face, illuminating the purple flesh of his lips and the almost grey of his skin. He looked almost translucent, the skin strange and warped. His tattoos seemed almost darker, the colours popping out on the canvas below.

Diego's hands trembled as he moved them from Klaus' chest to his face, checking for pulses and signs of life. Number Two's own breathing was hitched and he was seconds away from breaking down.

If Ben could be sick, he would have been.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up: God.  
Hopefully see you again tomorrow! Take Care.


	4. Klaus: Heavenly Emotions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus has another little chat with God and darn those pesky emotions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Never in my life did I imagine I'd be writing 'God' scenes. And again, brief mention of 'suicidal' discussion.

He was floating. Warm water licked at his ears and dampened the hair at his neck and the sound of sloshing water reached him when he waved his hands out beside him. Above him was a cloudless sky, only stars and the moon peering back. It wasn't yet dark but he could make out many a constellation he and Vanya had learnt together years ago.

A cough beside him- forceful and seeking attention- brought his gaze back. "Oh. Hello again."

"Hello Klaus." She (They!?) really wasn't pleased, the air about Them was full of an indignant rage.

"This is nice. Want to come join me?" He fanned his arms out around him even more, the ripples growing around his body.

"You drowned."

"Has anyone ever told you you're very blunt?"

"You drowned." They said again.

"Didn't mean to. Those nasty ghosts hurt me." He paused and looked up at the stars again. "Isn't that your department? To take away the souls and make sure they don't drown other people?"

They sighed. "One: No, it is not my job. And two: They don't drown _most _people. Just you."

"Ooh lucky me."

There was silence for a moment, and Klaus wondered if he would be made to go and have another chat with Daddy Dearest.

"It isn't your time."

"Gathered that. Say, don't suppose you could give me a bit of a clue on the 'my time' bit could you?"

The look They gave him, arms crossed over a floral dress and one eyebrow raised on a tilted head, was answer enough. 

He lay there for a few minutes more, just breathing (could he breath here? Or was he imagining it!?) and taking in his surroundings, the tranquility of life without souls following and latching onto him. He couldn't wait until this was permanent. Not that he wanted to lose his family, but death was far more welcoming than life.

"You have to go back."

Klaus lay silent.

"I am not giving you a choice."

It was his turn to sigh. "Yeah I know. Just...just kind of wanted to feel normal for once. This is the most composed I've felt in a long time." It hurt. It hurt that he had to die to feel like this, because that shouldn't be the case. That's the exact opposite of what they told you when you were suicidal- that death will bring you peace. He'd had that lecture before. But for Klaus it was different; it had _always _been different for Klaus. Life was full of death and noise and misery, yet here...serenity.

This time when God spoke, it almost sounded sincere and apologetic. "I know. But they need you."

"Do they?" As he said it, a harsh pain spiked through his chest, a feeling of pressure. Damn the emotions that came with talking out loud. Damn emotions at all! 

"Would they be trying their hardest to bring you back if they didn't?"

"Hmm?" He didn't really pay Them much attention, the pain in his chest still lingered and he was trying to zone back out as the stars wrapped around his vision.

"Your chest."

"You like? You little pervert." He tried to smile, but it wouldn't come.

A force suddenly pushed him under, as if someone had literally pressed his chest down into the water below him. It hurt too, his ribs aching under the invisible hit.

_Come back to me bro. Come back. _The words were said through tears, breaking as the voice grew hoarse.

"Diego?"

"He mourns for you. They all do."

And then the sensation on his chest made sense. "They're trying to bring me back?"

They nodded.

"But...can't you just zap me back, like you did last time?"

"I do not just _zap _you back. I can help speed the process along, but it is your body, your ability, that sends you back. Besides, I wanted you to understand a little more before you returned." Again, God really wasn't happy when broaching the subject of Klaus' abilities. A bit of a sour point.

Then Klaus began to feel the grief. He could feel it tight in his throat, the tears ripping at his airways just as the water had done before. His hands shook and his vision blurred as tears sprang from his eyes.

This wasn't his pain. It was theirs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do feel a bit bad that this is a bit strung out, with short chapters, but it seemed to make a bit more sense at the time to break it down rather than a big chunk. There is 3 (possibly 2 if I piece one bit together) more chapters to come and I already have an idea for a little ficlet to accompany this at the end (will be posted separately/in a 'series' folder), I just have to push myself to write it.


	5. Ben: Inhale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus inhales. They exhale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, thank you so much for the continued support. Enjoy.

Klaus' body seized on the floor below them, his chest jumping as the coughs and intake of air assaulted him. The first breath in sounded ragged and painful and was quickly followed by gagging.

Diego rolled him onto his side, the water pouring from his mouth as he hacked it up. Vanya patted and rubbed at his back, her other hand clinging onto Klaus' arm for dear life.

It had been minutes since Luther had dragged Klaus' lifeless body from the water but to all of them had felt like hours. No-one could move, the shock rooting them in position as they watched Diego, then Allison, and then Diego again, alternate between breaths in and chest compresses. The air was already heating up again, the sun shining down on them and beginning to work on their drenched clothing and bodies. Any thought of hypothermia was far back in their minds. Ben had focused on it for a second, and then saw the way Klaus' chest moved below Diego's hands and quickly forgot about it again.

Once the expulsion of water diminished, Diego was dragging Klaus onto his body, wrapping his arms around the lankier but somehow much smaller form. Klaus' upper body was laid on Diego's legs, with the latter brother's arms around Klaus' chest, and his forehead pressed firmly on the dark curls beneath them. "I got you. I got you!"

As he came to his senses a little more, Klaus wrapped his own arms around one of Diego's and held on so tightly it hurt Ben to witness. Klaus' body trembled, but everybody knew it was out of fear rather than coldness.

"Shit." Five suddenly said as he looked around. "None of us have dry clothes and we're in the middle of nowhere."

The Hargreeves looked around, following Five's roaming eyes. They were safe for now at least, the area around them providing cover from prying eyes and enough scope to see approaching dangers. There was shade as well as full sun, leaves, trees and bushes, even a tattered old boat house with half a roof. 

"Guess you don't have enough juice to jump us all out?" Luther asked.

Five sighed and shook his head. "Used all that up a while ago. Probably got enough to jump somewhere by myself though."

"Think you could get a car? Drive back to us?"

"I'll see what I can find. Don't want too much attention. Not only that, but I have no idea how to get out of here without scaling a wall or going back on ourselves."

It was true. Behind them was a huge wall that, in this light, Ben couldn't even see the top of, and in front of them was only the water that had gotten them here in the first place. Ben would go and look for himself, work his way on top of the wall and tell Klaus what he found, but with his brother's weak strength and damaged health, Ben could barely take a step without wanting to pass out. He may be stuck on this realm but it was definitely Klaus that helped ground him and give him 'energy'.

"Just. Just be careful Five." Diego's voice was small, a sound that never felt right coming from him. He was still clutched onto Klaus, his nose pressed firmly into the curls on the back of his neck. He was bent almost double to do so, but it didn't look like the action bothered him when it meant he could feel as much of his brother's (living) form beneath him as possible.

Five nodded before blinking out of existence.

The others all made a ring around Diego and Klaus, barricading them in with what warmth they could muster. Ben longed to join them, to feel their presence beside him, their prickled skin and soggy clothes.

As of right now, all he could do was fit himself into Klaus' eye-line, the gaze vacant and damaged.

When their eyes did meet, all Ben could say was, "Don't leave me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this one seems super short. I was going to pair it with the next part, also a Ben POV, but it seemed a little too long- not that chapters can be too long, but compared to the rest it would have been a whopper. Two more after this, and then hopefully the extra bit sometime in the near future. Again, I'm sure the correct/accurate depictions of near drowning and after effects of jumping into water aren't quite right but I hope it's alright for a basic fic.


	6. Ben: Bruises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The siblings continue to orientate themselves after their dramatic few minutes, but things come to light, and not good or happy things either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much as always to everyone following/leaving feedback. It means a lot.

Five had returned a little while later with piles of blankets in his arms. His power didn't always allow him to carry things with his jumps but some dogged determination had allowed him the privilege this time, though he all but collapsed once his feet landed back by their sides.

"Crap." Allison lunged forward and caught him. He wasn't out cold but his legs wouldn't carry him.

"Got blankets." His voice was slurred a little. "Was all I could carry."

"Hey, no, that's brilliant Five. Diego, start stripping Klaus and yourself!"

It was at that moment they all would expect some snarky and twisted remark from Klaus about brother's getting naked, but when it didn't come, it punched them all in the gut. Diego did as Vanya said though, and took the articles he could reach off of Klaus and himself. Luther had to pull Klaus' trousers down, leaving the boxers on.

"Boxers too!" Vanya said, nodding at the material.

"Erm..." Luther looked at each sibling, reaching for support.

It was Five who answered him, a little more alert now. "Oh come on. We've all seen him naked before. Not exactly like he hides it."

Allison sighed but smiled a little. "Put the blanket over him first, then pull them off underneath."

It wasn't long before each Hargreeves was naked and wrapped in a blanket, drying in the post storm sun. Their clothes were laid out on dry ground and would hopefully be decent enough to wear again before long.

Ben was still sat watching Klaus, whose eyes seemed to be looking straight through him. It wasn't unusual for their brother to see things they couldn't- obviously- but this wasn't that. This was a distant and broken gaze, a gaze of shock and not focusing on anything in this world. Ben longed to ask him what had happened, and what was still going on, but he had yet to respond to anything.

Luther was shuffling beside him, his own eyes darting up and down from Klaus' form to the space around them. He was uncomfortable.

"Eurgh Luther what is it now?" Diego was ratty. It was the stress. "He's naked. Big deal. We all are!"

"No it's not that...it's, erm. He has bruises on his legs."

"Probably from hitting the water." Five said nonchalantly. 

"Somehow, I don't think they are."

"Oh for God's sake Luther what are you..." Allison had gotten up and stalked over to where Luther sat before stopping, her eyes widening. "Oh my God."

Now Ben looked, as well as everyone else.

There, on Klaus' ankles and lower legs, were scores of bruises. All in the shape of hand marks. Around his actual ankle it was a pure ring of purples and reds but a little higher up were discernible hand prints, with fingers wrapping around his skin and meeting on the other side of his leg. There were scratches, groups of four or five parallel, working their way down his legs.

Ben looked back up to Klaus' face, noticing something at the exact moment Diego did. Both their eyes locking onto the wrists that were still clenched around Number Two's upper arm, the material of the blanket having slipped and revealing the skin beneath.

"They're on his wrists too." Diego visibly swallowed bile and looked away.

"I thought I was seeing things." Luther whispered and all eyes turned back to him. After a moment, and the gentle touch of Vanya, he elaborated. "When I grabbed him. I thought I saw...faces in the water. I just thought it was a trick of the light, or lack of oxygen. But they were all around him. Faint but shining. And his powers were working, he had blue arms...I thought he might be manifesting Ben, but I was wrong."

Ben had felt that pull, but it had been too weak and too far away. He may have blinked into existence for a moment, but without any witnesses he had no proof. At once he knew what had happened. Somehow Klaus had used his powers in the water and the ghosts had dragged him further down. He could see them now, like some twisted image of mermaids bobbing their heads above the surface of the water. He could hear their screams, the stuck records within the area, within their watery tombs. Anger surged within him and he wanted to yell at them, to beat them, to kill them, for hurting his brother. But it wasn't their fault. He had seen damaged souls before, souls that had no power over their actions like he did, no control over themselves. They were animals, twisted and warped versions of themselves. They hadn't meant to hurt Klaus, only latch on and gain his aid.

Ben looked back into the distant eyes of his brother. Still, he could do nothing.

In the past when Klaus slept on the street and ate garbage and let the drugs take him away, Ben would simply just 'be there', sometimes even unnoticed by Klaus himself. His brother would lose focus, lose himself to the world he lived in, and Ben would stick by him until he came back to him. It was at times like those that he could often only shadow him and talk to him until he at last responded. Ben remembered one such time where a fever was ravaging his brother's body and nothing he could say or do got through. And so he had sat with him, repeating a mantra that was just as much comfort to himself as it was meant for the man next to him. He repeated that now, a simple phrase that had often stuck with the two siblings. "I'm here Klaus."

His brother's gaze wavered minutely and Ben's hopes rose. But it was barely a flicker and Klaus still stared off past all of his siblings.

"Why don't we get some rest? We'll probably be able to think better after a rest." Allison was stood up and staring at the boat house, her hair still heavy with water, dragging it down and making her face seem longer and more sorrowful. "The boat house has a bit of shelter."

Nobody really acknowledged the statement but they all began to make their way to the wooden structure anyway. Luther had wordlessly taken Klaus from Diego's arms but the latter had not let go of the semi conscious brother; one of his hands still clinging to the tattooed 'Hello' appendage of the other. Five had inspected the structural safety of the mooring spot and, with a shrug of his shoulders, walked inside and sat himself in a spot that allowed a decent view of the area. The rest followed, picking places either covered by a roof or with a little sun to warm their bodies through.

Luther waited for Diego to pick a spot before gently depositing Klaus back into his arms. The two laid there, side by side, with Diego lying a protective arm over his brother's torso. Klaus was on his back, face staring up at the ceiling, whilst Diego laid on his side, his face once again pressed close to his brother's. He nudged his forehead to the temple of Klaus's left side and Ben could see him whispering into his ear. It was too soft for anybody to hear, though Ben knew he could get close enough to earwig if he pleased but it felt wrong to. This was a private moment for Diego. 

Around him, the siblings began to drift off or focus on keeping watch. Five stayed where he was, a dog on high alert and twitching at any sound or movement. Luther also stayed awake, overlooking the boat house and keeping a close eye on Klaus.

Ben was still weak, he could feel Klaus' strength zapped from the day and allowed himself to almost blink out of existence. It was something he had learnt to do, and could almost compare it to falling asleep. When Klaus was sleeping or ill or weak, Ben could fold away, become an echo on the wind and not quite there, allowing a little extra energy for his brother.

Klaus would be ok. He had Diego wrapped around him tighter than the blanket he wore and Luther keeping a close watch over him. Ben's gaze fell on the water that was all too alive- teeming with the memories of its long lost victims. He let the air wash over him, through him, and felt the tingle of his connection on this world.

He would be there for his brother when he came back to them, but for now, all he could do was join his siblings as they waited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nearly it folks, just one more chapter of the main story. I have started writing the extra bit which I'll probably just add on the end of this for ease, but I'll try and get a move on and keep you posted for it's coming.


	7. Luther: Awake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus finally returns to them, still not right, but trying his best- just like Luther.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are! Technically the final chapter! I hope you've enjoyed the story and that this piece doesn't disappoint. I'm sorry it was strung out as much as it was, over the week in short chapters, but we're here now.  
Luther gets a lot of stick but I also see how he's just as messed up as the rest of them are, they all deal and react in different ways. So I've given Luther a bit of a break here, tried to give him an edge we don't always see (which I hope doesn't come across too ooc). Enjoy. x

Luther woke suddenly. _Shit! _He hadn't meant to fall asleep. He had been keeping an eye out, making sure no-one got to them. And in all honesty, he couldn't take his eyes off of Klaus either, wanting to witness every movement or any little thing that happened. It worried him that he had yet to move even a finger, and apart from the unconscious trembling and clinging to Diego like a lifeline, nothing was happening. When he had lifted him from the man-made beach and brought him to the boat house, he was so lifeless it was painfully close to when he had dragged him out of the water moments before. His body had rag dolled in his grip, simultaneously weighing nothing and so much all at once.

He took a look around the ramshackled building, going over his siblings one by one. Each was asleep and peaceful, now no longer dripping wet through and shivering. But then his eyes landed on the spot Klaus and Diego had resided. Diego was now laid on his back, the arm that had once been slung over their brother was now lying on his own chest, moving up and down as he breathed. The space next to him was empty.

Luther shot up, moving far more swiftly than a man his size should be able to. He looked around and found Five missing too. His panic grew as he exited the boat house, the sun sinking on the horizon a little more now and a warm breeze ruffling the trees around him. In an instant his heart returned to its rightful place in his chest rather than his throat and the anxiety swelling up in his stomach abated to the usual flutter. On the beach that was more mud than sand sat Klaus. He was sat facing the water, his legs drawn up to his chest and swaying gently.

The larger brother didn't want to surprise the smaller, and so circled around the spot a little, giving Klaus a wide birth with heavy footsteps that alerted him to his presence before he got there.

"Hey big guy." Klaus very clearly tried to put some of his usual jovial sing song lilt to his voice but Luther could see past it this time to the broken soul beyond. "Sun's getting real low..."

Luther sighed and laughed. "Did you just..? I thought you hated that?"

The pale face of his brother then turned to him, a smile a little more like Klaus sitting there. "Didn't plan on it, just kind of sat there waiting to be said. Besides, it's true."

They both looked toward the sun which was painting the sky gorgeous hews of pinks and purples. Luther gestured to the space beside Klaus, aware he could probably see the movement from the corner of his eye. "May I?"

"Sure."

As he sat down, Luther's attention caught on a spot high above them on the wall. On high alert, he was ready to grab Klaus and run, seconds before realising the spot was in fact a figure, a small boy to be exact. Five sat high above them, surveying the area, but clearly with Klaus in his sights. Maybe the old codger had a heart afterall.

"How are you feeling?"

Klaus didn't respond. It was common knowledge that Klaus was loud and brash, exclaiming his feelings or thoughts whenever he could and to whomever was listening. But it was his true emotions that he hid, the real pain behind the mask and bravado. You knew, truthfully, how Klaus was doing when he was at his quietest.

"You scared the shit out of us all."

"Sorry." The apology was childlike and muffled, truly ashamed for causing them grief.

Luther hated himself. He really wasn't good at this. "Shit, no...not- I'm not mad. I meant." He grabbed at his head with both hands, grunting into them in frustration. "Start again. I meant, we were really worried for you."

The response was just the same.

"Stop saying sorry."

Klaus held his lips shut.

Why did their entire family have to be so emotionally constipated?

"I don't think you know how much concern we have for you. I know it's not been great in the past and we've all been arseholes to you but...I think it's because we care that we've often sounded harsh or angry."

Klaus now gave him a quizzical look- brief- before he went back to looking at the water.

"Not all the time. Sometimes we were just screw ups and wankers." A snort from the man beside him lifted his spirits slightly. "But the fact that we wanted to help you, and couldn't, really got to us quite a lot over the years. Each time Dad told us you'd gone back into rehab I thought that maybe you'd be better again, but then you'd end up back in the same places and I was angry that I couldn't help you or that it had even got to these stages in the first place. I sort of really wanted to go back, when Five jumped us from the apocalypse, because I would have been able to be a better brother. Not Number One, but Luther. It's the only way we know how to respond to one another, shouting and lashing out until one of us gets it. It's how he raised us, as a team, not as a family. All of us are so different, polar opposites in many ways, and we were forced together and everything was expected to be alright. Well it's not. _We're _not."

They fell into silence then. Luther's train of thought steering off and trying to word everything he wanted to say. He could see Klaus' eyes flicking over the surface of the reservoir and an occasional tic would flinch on his face or twitch on his fingers. Luther wanted desperately to ask what had happened down there, if the faces he had seen had been real and were the reason behind the marks on his brother's body. But he didn't know how fresh the trauma was, or how Klaus would react.

Easy does it. "The current was stronger than I thought it would be down there. Must have been the storm."

"I quite liked it."

Luther snapped his head toward Klaus, his eyes wide and his heart thumping in his chest. "What?" He couldn't keep the disgust from his voice.

"At first." Klaus paused. "It was peaceful. Just, floating there."

Ok. So maybe not as bad as he'd interpreted it. Maybe? He'd have to ask around for opinions later.

When nothing more was said, they sat there for a few minutes more. The questions were niggling away at his mind and heart, and with the way Klaus kept looking at the water, it was something on both of their thoughts.

"Klaus...what happened down there?"

His brother took in a huge, stuttering breath and gripped his hands tighter onto his arms. For a while Luther thought he would evade the question again, until his too quiet voice finally answered. "They took me."

"They? The currents?"

Klaus shook his head. "The dead."

Luther breathed deep, preparing himself for more. "It was them who, who hurt you? The marks on your legs and arms?"

Klaus looked at himself, possibly for the first time. His sparkling green eyes, already moist from unshed tears, seemed to glimmer as he opened them in a shocked laugh. "Oh boy. Didn't see them there." He rubbed a hand shakily over one ankle, tracing one of the marks of fingers up his leg. "Yeah..."

When he started to scratch at them Luther had to gently remove his hand from the offending skin, but didn't let go, instead holding his brother's bony fingers in his.

"I don't know what happened Luth. I was trying to swim up and then I...I started going down. I felt something on my ankle and when I looked down one of them was there, holding on. I didn't even mean to use my power, I had no control over it and the next thing they were all around me. One on each ankle, one on each arm. One around my waist. They were dragging me and clawing at me and trying to get me to help them but they're so confused, they didn't know they were doing harm and..."

The panic in his brother's voice was clear, the speed increasing as he recited his story until he was sat beside Luther, struggling to breath like they were back in the icy depths.

Luther shuffled toward him and put his arm around Klaus' shoulders, pulling the blankets tighter around them whilst using his other hand to rub up and down a thin arm. "Breath Klaus. Just breath. Sssh. It's all gone away now."

It didn't seem to be working very well and before long Klaus' body trembled. Luther could only sit there, rubbing his arms and trying to shush him.

In a pop of light Five was suddenly in front of them, kneeling before Klaus; He must have seen as things deteriorated from above. "Number Four!"

Oh yeah, sure, _that _would help!

Luther gave him a look, one that was reciprocated with an un-worded _screw you_. "Come on Number Four. You're better than this!"

"What the hell Five?" Luther snapped. "Way to sound like Dad! If he needs to cry, let him cry."

"I _would _let him cry, but he isn't is he? He's hyperventilating. It's not healthy and he needs to stop."

"What do you mean _not healthy_. A man's emotions are just as important as anyone else's..." Maybe he'd been spending too much time with Allison and Vanya. And he _definitely _knew he was trying a bit too hard.

"I don't mean healthy as in...oh for crying out loud Luther. I mean he can't breath! He needs to calm down so he doesn't pass out or damage his heart and lungs."

"Erm. Mom. Dad. Have you finished? You know I get uncomfortable when you argue. If you split up do I have to decide who I spend my weekends with?"

The sudden joke coming from Klaus took Luther by force and he couldn't help the laugh that erupted from him. He hadn't even noticed when his brother had stopped heavy breathing, focused solely on his aggravating little/big brother.

Five stood up. "You can stay with him, I don't want you."

"Charming." Both he and Klaus said at once. But Luther saw the twitch of Five's lip as the smile was forced back- the bastard really did have a heart somewhere in there.

"Good." Klaus mock mumbled. "Don't want to stay with you and your cheap knock-off new beau anyway."

"Delores and I split up."

"Oh crap really? I'm sorry bro." This time when he spoke, Klaus meant it.

"What's going on?"

From behind them, Luther heard the voices of the other siblings, Diego of course leading the pack and racing toward them. Even after the commotion, Luther still had his arm around Klaus. It took him a second to notice that Klaus had latched onto him too, keeping a grounding hold on his huge forearm.

"We're planning a stargazing party. Sun's getting real...oh, well actually it's pretty much set now. All we need is some cocoa."

Luther watched as Diego gazed suspiciously at their brother, both knowing he was hiding behind another act. How quickly he had turned from open to closed off again, the panic attack throwing him right back into defense mode.

Allison sat the other side of Klaus from Luther and tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. "How you doing?"

He shrugged. "Fine. Cocoa-less though."

Luther and Allison caught one another's sad gazes, a shared understanding between them.

"Well how about we get out of here? Get home and you can drink until you're sick."

"About 2 sips in Diego's case." Five snarked.

"Hey! I'm not used to shit like that, you know my-"

"Body is a temple!" Klaus interrupted. He was rewarded with a clip around the ear from their black clad brother.

Now that Luther looked, it was only he and Klaus still left in their stylish blankets (and an undershirt in his case, not quite comfortable with walking around full ape even with his own family). "Clothes are dry then?"

"Yup."

Vanya walked forward, handing over a pile. "Brought both of yours for you."

"Thanks." Whilst Luther got up to begin changing, he noticed that Klaus didn't move a muscle. His smile was still there, but it had slipped back into the sad smile he subconsciously wore when too tired or distracted to keep up appearances. Luther decided to steer any attention from the fourth Hargreeves. "So how are we getting home?"

"Me." Five stood upright, puffing his chest out slightly. "I have enough juice to get us away from here."

"You sure?" Diego asked.

Five nodded, aware the apprehension was genuinely for his own health. Piece by piece they were breaking him down, proving to him he didn't have to be so stoic.

Once Luther had changed they gathered around in a small circle ready for Five to jump them away. He and Diego kept firm grips on Klaus who looked about ready to fall asleep again.

Luther took a final look at the reservoir, at the wood from which they had ran, and held his breath as the electrifying buzz filled his ears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the continued support! So many lovely words and returning reviewers. If to some of you the 'sun's getting real low' bit didn't make sense, it's a quote from Avengers: AOU & Thor: Ragnarok- I wrote 'Hey Big Guy' and couldn't resist following it up with the quote.  
I have written a chunk of my planned add on section, including the main bit that I had in my head, so HOPEFULLY I get into gear and finish that soon. Technically this is complete but I'll leave it open to add the extra bit when I complete it.  
Again, thank you SO much to all you lovely people. I can't wait for S2 and to see what goodies (touch wood) we get from our favourite disasters.  
Take Care! x


	8. Sinking Deeper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The after effects of recent events.   
"The one thing he loved and could rely on and it had been taken from him. Just another point of evidence to go toward his growing belief that he should never love anyone or anything lest it be ripped from him viciously and violently."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok. I never intended it to be this time before I got this completed. I also didn't intend it to be this long- I meant to do a short scene of Klaus having a slight panic attack before getting in the bath. But here we are, a few thousand words later. I'm going to ignore the fact the 'epilogue' is nearly as long as the actual story- my bad. And I just can't seem to give Klaus a break, I'm extremely sorry.   
As you may have noticed, I've slightly altered the Title of the Fic- discussing title options with my friend we decided we both liked 'Depths of Despair' and 'Sinking Deeper'. At first I went with 'Sinking Deeper' but after writing the final part I realised that it fit that much better. So now the main story is 'Depths of Despair' with this final section being 'Sinking Deeper'.   
I have babbled, and I could have finished this at varying parts throughout but as usual I just kept giving Klaus a bad time. I hope it's not too much or too jumbled but I promised I'd try to get it out so here you are. Enjoy. x

It felt like the cold was set so deep into his bones that he would feel it for a long time. Mom and Pogo had cleared him from medical, telling him to keep an eye on his breathing and general health and that if anything felt even slightly wrong to go back to them.

So maybe he should tell them he still felt half dead?

It wasn't unusual for Klaus to feel so poor, for his body to rebel and constantly feel run down, on the verge of some new illness. He often felt cold in the heat of summer with his skin goosepimpling and his hands shaking- when not shaking from the drugs that is. He often got headaches from the constant barrage of voices and pressure of his powers working in the background and because of nearly everything about him, nausea was a daily occurrence. So he wasn't going to let a little chill worry him. And he _definitely _wasn't going to alert anyone else and worry them; he'd only just got Diego to stop following him around.

_"Dee, Dee, I'm fine. I'm just gonna go nap ok, maybe take a bath. You need one of each too, you stink and you're cranky." _

He'd forgone the nap, too alert and buzzing to even think about sleeping. And honestly he didn't know if he dared close his eyes for even when he blinked he saw the dark waters and the terrifying ghosts that had dragged him down. Once or twice since returning he'd had dizzy spells, his head going light and feeling all too close like the sensation of floating, and then falling. He could still feel their grips on his ankles, the bruises rubbing roughly against his trousers and the strong grip around his torso that had felt so paralyzing.

Now he stood in the bathroom, his reflection staring back at him from the mirror. He looked just like they had, eyes glazed over and half empty sat upon their backdrop of dark rings, with dirty skin poisoned by the water leaving blue sheens on a pale background. He was a twisted and warped painting, 'The Scream' forming a filter over his face in his mind. This was going to stick with him for a long time. Hell. It may even be the new mausoleum.

The mirror slowly steamed up as the heat from the bath he was running took over the room, forcing him to turn away and focus on the activity at hand. He was dressed in some sweats and a loose top, something Grace had thrown on him when they brought him back still shivering, but made no move to remove them now. Once the water neared the rim of the tub he turned the taps off and let the water settle beneath him. Usually he would be straight in, lapping up the joy of being in a bath and throwing his headphones over his ears and a lit cigarette in his mouth. But now, it was as if he was rooted to the spot.

Behind him the bathroom door squeaked a little as it was pushed open- he _had_ left it ajar so he wasn't going to snap at whoever it was.

"Hey. You want anything before you get in?" It was Allison. "Anything I can get you. Or do?"

_No._

"Klaus?"

_No _thanks_ Allison. _Typical mum, always prying for manners.

"Klaus? You alright?"

It was then he realised that maybe he hadn't actually responded. "Oh. Sorry Ally Cat, yeah. Just. Just peachy." Even _he _knew his voiced weakened and trailed off at the end.

He heard the clack of Allison's shoes on the tiles as she grew closer, before feeling the warmth of her body as she stood behind him. She put a gentle, and nervous, hand on his elbow. "No. You're not."

Maybe it was the utter exhaustion, or maybe it was the fact he'd already voiced so many emotions and thoughts today but his words seemed to spill out far easier than they had ever come before.

"I don't think I can have a bath Al." They may have spilled from his mouth, but they were still whispered and broken.

The _one _thing he loved and could rely on and it had been taken from him. Just another point of evidence to go toward his growing belief that he should never love anyone or anything lest it be ripped from him viciously and violently.

"Klaus..."

He turned to her, but neither broke contact. His eyes met hers and he saw pity staring back at him. "I don't want to get into that bath anymore than I want to visit a graveyard." Even as he stood there with his back to the offending object, he began to shake a little more. "I. I-I can't. I don't want..."

As he shook his head and looked down at the floor he felt himself pulled into a hug, being wrapped in an embrace almost meant to hold him together and stop the shaking. Allison was shushing him and carding her fingers through his hair as she rubbed his back with the other hand. Total Mom!

"You don't have to have a bath Klaus. Not now. It's only been a few hours. Take a shower. Or just get into something comfortable and try again tomorrow."

"I don't want a shower." Yeah, he sounded like a moping kid, his bottom lip out and his face scrunched.

"Then don't have one."

"But I want a bath!" He forced himself from her embrace and stomped his foot. He was angry at the world, at what had happened and everything that had ever happened to him. Maybe he was going through some 'stages of' type thing; fear, uncertainty, anger...

"Do you want me to stay?" Allison said it so suddenly and with so little fight or reaction to Klaus' immature behaviour that he stood frozen for a moment.

"I...no. No that'd be weird."

She laughed, and even though it was short, Klaus felt a bubble of something good inside of him upon witnessing it. "I think this entire family is passed 'weird', don't you? Besides, it's not the first time I've seen you in the bath, nor naked for that matter."

"Ally I was 8 last time you saw me in the bath."

She laughed again but was rubbing his arms up and down as if to warm him. It helped ground him if anything.

"But I've run the water now."

"Well if you don't use it, I'm sure one of us will. Diego's already had a shower and I'm pretty sure Vanya has but there's me or Five."

"What about Luther? Does he wait for a storm and stand outside?"

He got a punch to the arm (though lovingly even so) for that remark. And another laugh. "You're terrible!"

After that, they lapsed into silence and stood for a good minute in one another's company. From the corner of his eye, Klaus could see Allison assessing him, looking him up and down and trying to gauge his stability.

Eventually, he sighed and ran a hand over his face. "Yeah. I'm just gonna call it a night. My sheets need changing anyway, I'll wash them and me tomorrow."

When she spoke, Allison's voice was oh so soft. "Ok."

There was still a part of him that hated this pity and sympathy, that wanted to shout at her for treating him like she would Claire, but he was just so done. He couldn't argue, couldn't find it in himself to be angry because there was so much more to feel and he couldn't take anymore emotions.

Ironically, he was drowning in it all.

"Klaus?" Allison's worried voice came through. Damn, how long had he been lost in thought? And when had he fallen to heavy breathing?

_It was the drowning reference wasn't it!?! _

"No. I'm good. I'm good." He straightened his clothes and tucked some of Allison's hair behind her ear. "You should use the water, I put fresh flower meadow bubble bath in and I know how much you love your blossom scents."

She looked at him again, toying with saying more, but evidently decided against it- for now most likely- and nodded. "Ooh you definitely know how to persuade a girl!" 

Klaus kissed her on the cheek, stroking a thumb over her face as he held her. She squeezed him back, her eyes beginning to shine with tears.

_And that's my cue to leave! _"Don't forget to lock the door, though not much use when Five decides to just pop in."

As the door closed behind him, he ran across back to his room and locked himself in. The burn of tears at the back of his throat fought with the air stolen from him as his grief and panic took over. Was he going to get a damn break today when it came to breathing clearly!?!

Sinking down the side of his bed, sitting on the cold hard floor, he grounded himself and focused on everything BUT the pounding of his heart and the sting of his fear. The day had worn him away until there was nothing left, until he was a shell moving about and trying to mimic a human. He was a ghost.

Sitting by his bed he let the exhaustion take over him, the singing in his ears and the buzzing of his body replaced by pure emptiness. Knowing full well it would be a restless and nightmare fueled time, he fell asleep.

XX

He hadn't washed himself or his sheets as he had planned. It was a miracle he was even up now- though 'up' included him standing in the middle of his room two days after the events of the reservoir and trying not to pass out scream or cry.

He had woken to find himself in his bed a few hours after falling asleep on the floor and later heard that Diego had found him that way, panicked, checked him over with the help of Mom before lying him oh so gently ("Tell anybody else and I'll kill you!") onto his bed. Over the course of that night- or day?- he was mostly unconscious, hearing people coming in and out his room to check up on him and taking readings of his vitals. At one point Vanya worried he was too out of it and voted they put him back in infirmary to keep an eye on him but was (kindly) knocked down by Pogo stating it was natural to be this exhausted and that him waking up in a different room would probably spook him more. Klaus stayed as he was, letting sleep take over whenever it wanted to and fought nightmares and horrors just as he always did. Even when he awoke he stayed motionless, just staring at a fixed point in the room or feigning sleep if he knew he had company. A part of him just didn't want to face anybody.

It was a day later he woke up properly, turning over to see a jug of water and some fruit and biscuits laid beside his bed should he want anything. He had forced himself to rise from the bed and made a note for his door asking for privacy before locking it. In the time since, he had only had about 10 knocks and threats of breaking down the door but a quick manifest of Ben to calm their worries made them go away.

_"Just give him time. He's ok I promise, he's just dealing with it the Klaus way."_

_"But he doesn't have to. We're here. We want to help."_

_"I know Vanya, and I'm sure he knows too but just...he has his coping mechanisms and I want to give him space for those- for now." _

_"No offense Ben but we know his coping mechanisms and we aren't huge fans of him being alone whilst needing them." _

_"There's no drugs in there, no alcohol. He needs time and privacy..."_

_"He needs his family!"_

_"Yeah well where was his family all those times before Diego! Huh!? And what am I? Scotch Mist?"_

_Klaus had 'ended the call' before things got even more heated, with Ben skulking back in with his shoulders slumped. "How much did you hear?"_

_"I'm not deaf you know. You were stood right outside my door." _

_"They really are worried."_

He had slept again after that and now stood stock still in the centre of his room. After managing to finish half the water and a couple of mouthfuls of banana he felt somewhat better. Ghosts still crowded the room, crying and muttering their death songs around him and it was only his lack of energy that meant he didn't raise a finger to try and shut them out. His arms were so weak he couldn't hold them over his ears and even closing his eyes felt like too much effort.

He still craved a bath though. So with the one shred of willpower he had, he walked from his room and across the landing. The light in the bathroom was good, sunny but not so bright it hurt his eyes and the warmth of the rays held the room at a comfortable temperature too. Slowly he began the process of setting up his bath. He poured a selection of fragrant bubble baths in, creating a relaxing and atmospheric mixture, and turned on both taps to begin filling up the tub. From the linen cupboard he fished out two fresh towels and hung them from the shower rails to warm up as the room turned into a mini sauna. Returning to his room he grabbed some of his favourite trousers- a pair of dark purple and grey tartan skinny jeans- and a random rock band tshirt he may have stolen from Vanya or Allison years ago during a shared 'rebel' phase. They would make him feel good, a reward after his bath, fresh clothes and fresh Klaus.

As the water once again reached the rim of the tub he turned off the taps and stared down at it. The colours of one of the bubble baths shimmered with hues of purple and pink and resembled some mystical, magical water from a fairytale. If only Klaus felt like the water looked.

He was yet to strip from his now manky sweats but couldn't push himself to do so, once again petrified to the spot. With a little cajoling from Ben he bent over and slowly let his fingers plunge into the water, sweeping his hand from side to side and letting the liquid seep over the appendage.

Maybe it felt good? He wasn't sure.

It did feel good but his mind went right back to the murky waters of the reservoir and the damn ghosts stood around the room with him weren't helping in the slightest. They weren't the same ghosts as back then, these were ones he recognized that seemed to be stuck in the vicinity of the mansion and had found him years ago when his power was still growing. But it didn't help him feel any better for he knew that there were a number of these people who would love to see him suffer and probably wouldn't think twice before shoving his head below the surface should he let them. His power had manifested without his say so a few days ago, at a time when it was dangerous for them to do so and it terrified him that he wouldn't have a hold of his abilities in future times of need. Who was to say he wouldn't be laid in this tub and not be pushed down if his powers did as they pleased again? Or even now, stood beside the water, one could come from behind and bend him over the rim until his face was submerged and air bubbles forced themselves from his mouth?

Klaus ripped his hand from the water and took numerous steps away from the bath, his heart hammering and his chest heaving. Tears and sweat mixed on his face and his hands shook as he held them to his body.

He was stood there for a good 5 minutes before a knock at the door brought him from his trance.

"Klaus? You in there?" It was Allison again.

When she gave the knob a gentle turn and the door another knock he realised he must have remembered to lock the door this time.

"It's ok if you want to be alone, I just saw your room empty and wanted to be sure."

She wasn't demanding, her voice was gentle and caring and he could sense the anxiety behind her words. He knew that she would respect his privacy but also knew that she would break down the door or get Five to jump in if he didn't give her some clue to his safety.

In the end he turned to the door and unlocked it. He opened it, meeting her worried gaze.

"I want a bath." The voice that came from him was so childlike it made him sick, he wasn't the type to share his emotions and there had been so much vulnerability these last few days that he was embarrassed and ashamed. Allison almost cried with him, her eyes shining with tears as she looked from the bath behind him back to him.

"Come on." With all the care of a mother, she took his hand and led him back into the bathroom. As he stood there he allowed her to take off his tshirt and trousers before wrapping a towel around his midriff. "I'm not forcing you into that bath, ok, but I'll stay here as long as you want me to until you feel comfortable enough to get in. And if you can't do it today, then we'll do this again tomorrow, and the next day, and next month if we need to. Alright?"

His nod of affirmation dislodged a number of fresh tears that tracked their way down his cheeks. He could do this. He had been in a war for Christ's sake, he had lived on the streets for years, he had done things to get money and drugs- this was a bath, a bath, a thing that he loved so much. 

Ben stood a bit further back but made himself known to Klaus, clearing as many of the ghosts from the room as he could- it seemed being manifested and murdering assassins gave him a little more decree over the lesser, screaming, ghosts around him.

"Allison's with you Klaus, if anything happens she'll be right there. She's not going to let them push you under."

"You promise?" The words were meant for Ben, for his assurance of Klaus' safety under Allison's care, but of course, their sister had not heard Ben's side to the conversation.

"Of course." Though the words were spoken softly and full of emotion, there was a sting to them, as if it hurt her to think that Klaus had so little faith in her. And he wanted to correct it, to explain that it was meant for Ben but he just couldn't find it in himself to bother.

As he drew in a breath, it hitched and shook and he turned his gaze to the ceiling to try and reign in his emotions. He could do this.

Before the fear took over again, and with both of his siblings' words still fresh in his mind, he lifted a leg up and into the water. Luckily he always drew the bath extra warm and so the water was still a decent temperature.

His foot tingled under the depths but he could feel the oils of the products soft on his skin and an inhale had the aromas filling his lungs.

"It smells gorgeous Klaus, you'll have to start your own fragrance collection." Allison had noticed him trying to focus on the good things, the feel of the water on his leg, the smell of whatever he had used, and she focused on that, aiming his attention even more.

"Like making potions from all the bottles when we were kids." He smiled as the memory forced away his anxieties for a moment longer.

"Sometimes I still kind of want to do it." She giggled in his ear.

With the arm that was already in her grasp, he let his weight fall onto her a little as he lifted his second leg into the bath until he was stood paddling in the water, the towel still wrapped around his waist.

He breathed deep, focusing on the smells and the sounds around him (trying not to listen to the last few ghosts Ben hadn't managed to clear off), and the feeling of Allison behind him, her touch grazing over his body as she soothed him.

"I think I want to sit down." It came out as a whisper, and almost as if he was asking permission.

"Ok." Was her response.

Taking it as permission and confirmation of her presence, he removed the towel with a shaking hand- his other absolutely not letting go of his sister's. There wasn't even a thought spared to her seeing his ass, or any other part of him, as he precariously lowered himself further into the water.

The hand in his remained.

He tightened his grip as the water came up and up his legs, covering his lower back.

His hand shook in hers as his stomach went under.

Her spare hand scratched the back of his head as she added extra contact support when he was close to jumping right back out again.

With his eyes closed and Allison's left hand in his and right hand in his hair, he finally allowed himself to firmly sit in the bath and leant his body back to lie down.

He still shook, but it felt so damn good to be in here. The soothing effects of the bath already working their magic, and the internal celebration of facing the challenge forcing a huge serotonin wave to sweep through him. He felt good, even though his body was still half reacting to the anxiety.

"Feel better?" Allison was slowly stroking his hair and tickling the nape of his neck with her nails. 

"Mmhhmm." He hummed.

When she laughed it was like jingle bells in his ears, tinkling a happy tune. And just like that everything drifted away. He was back in his happy place, with the warmth of the bath enveloping him and a gentle hum coming from Allison as she sat beside him- he felt he should find that awkward but he couldn't find it in himself to care. Turning his gaze toward his sister he saw her eyes shining with pride and happiness, and he returned the look with soft, grateful eyes that spoke volumes.

"Thank you Ally Cat."

"You're more than welcome." She leant forward and kissed his forehead. "Want me to stay?"

He thought about it for a while with the childlike fear still niggling at him to get her to stay, to see him through this one bath, but the relaxation and accomplishment of the task had given him a boost he knew he had to use. "Nah, think I'm good."

"Ok. Shout me if you need me, I'm just in my room." She gave him another kiss and got up to leave; Their hands stayed entwined until she was far enough for them to break apart.

Once she had left, he manifested Ben just long enough for him to turn the latch on the lock. "Thanks Benny, we all know Luther doesn't know how to knock."

"So Allison can see your junk but not Luther?" His brother laughed.

"I just don't like the boys getting jealous, y'know? I feel bad that they think they have to compete with _this_." He swept his hand up and down the length of his body.

"You just gestured to all of you."

"Exactamundo Benjamin!"

"You're impossible."

They lapsed into an easy silence after that, with Ben grabbing one of his mystery books out of no-where and Klaus relaxing further into the bath. He closed his eyes and let himself fall back into a familiar calm.

X

_The water was all around. There was no light above him, only darkness, and no way out. It was an endless body of water and he wasn't ever going to break the surface. His lungs burnt like fire, like scores of barbed wire wrapped around him and squeezed. It grated on his skin, under his skin, in his lungs and everything in between. It felt like his throat was cut off, an invisible noose knotting and pulling and stealing any chance of breathing. _

_Beneath him, his ankles tore as nails and hands gripped and scratched and tugged as if he was the rope in some sick game of tug'o'war, and when others latched onto his arms he became some stretchy doll being pulled from all directions. He tried to scream but nothing came out, only bubbles- precious bubbles of air that he couldn't afford to lose. He watched them float up and away. The ghosts continued to tear him apart as he screamed and flailed as best he could, trying to break away and dislodge these phantom anchors. _

_"Klaus." Oh god, they were screaming and crying and now they were calling his name._

_"Klaus?" Stop it. Just stop it._

_"KLAUS!?" _

_LET ME GO._

_"KLAUS!" _

_He flapped wildly, the air bubbles clouding his vision making everything around him one big black mess littered with terrifying faces and limbs. His skin was broken in places and he wasn't certain if he had hurt one of his wrists writhing in their death grips. _

_In the end, his scream became one of theirs, lost in the endless void. _

X

Allison sat in her room. She planned on sorting through a lot of her things with the idea of handing some to her siblings and passing others on down to Claire. She had a pile of 'Klaus' clothes to her right which was much bigger than any of her other loads and she smiled remembering him 'borrowing' them over the years. The day they had reunited and she had seen him wearing her skirt had been like nothing had ever happened, like they had never broken up, like their father had never forced half of them away and let the other half die. Klaus had walked in, large as life, sauntering around in her skirt and suddenly all those years of distant interactions and hearing about him back in rehab or back on the streets could have been bad dreams. There they were, sat in the main room of their mansion and bickering like they always had and their pain in the ass 'little' brother broke the tension by just being him. Beautiful, wonderful, him.

And that was what made seeing him so broken hurt like hell. They knew he had bad days, and probably more bad days than any of them, but he always did so well to hide it or work past it. Klaus was strong, possibly the strongest at times over the years, and he had always been affectionate and caring and let his emotions show but it was his deepest darkest thoughts that scared them the most. They had seen him get bad, they had seen him close to giving up and it was far from their courageous brother. They gave him hell, they were shit siblings more often than not and yet he stuck close even after all the shit they'd gone through- and now more than ever. And the man she had held not long ago was not her skirt wearing, high heel stealing, nail and face painting brother. He had been one step away from the ghosts that plagued him, one foot over the line that split the living from the dead. Even sat in the bath, body trembling in her hold, his face and soul had been devoid of life.

Shaking her head from the morbid thoughts she walked from her room toward the bathroom. It had been 3 quarts of an hour since she'd left him and even that made her antsy to check in on him.

As she neared the door she heard water sloshing, so maybe she'd just caught him getting out- or more likely in the middle of a dance party he often had when he was in a good mood. She smiled as she stood there listening. _You little perv,_ she could almost hear Klaus' teasing tone. 30 seconds of standing and listening she thought it best to leave him a little longer, she would go down to the kitchen and make herself some tea and come back up and have another check on her way past back to her room. But as she began to walk away she heard a clatter of something falling on the floor from inside the bathroom, and the water sounds seemed to intensify. Maybe he was doing the macarena and just got a bit too into it? Or maybe he needed her?

Forgoing her caution, she moved to the door and knocked. "Klaus? It's just me I just wanted to check in?"

Nothing.

"Klaus?" She didn't raise her voice, she wasn't going to allow herself to panic yet.

Again, nothing.

This time she knocked and turned the handle- she would just poke her head in the door and if he was full macarena he wouldn't see her anyway.

The door was locked.

Ok. No panicking. He'd probably just got out to unlock it once she'd left, not everyone in this house had the decency to knock before entering a room. _Five!_

"Klaus." This time she did raise her voice a little.

Fuck.

"Klaus!?"

Ben was probably aware of her presence and would no doubt get through to their brother, waving a hand in front of his face and making him take off his headphones.

But...Klaus hadn't had his headphones on him.

Turning to his room, she easily spotted the walkman and his treasured music source laying haphazardly on his bedside table.

So no music. No headphones. No reason for Klaus not to be able to hear her.

Her feet moved before she could think, racing to the staircase and yelling down.

"FIVE!"

He popped in a second later, glaring daggers at her. "This best be important."

"Bathroom!" There was no time for explanations and so she turned back and ran the way she had come, hoping the old fool was following. The pop and flash as she reached the hallway told her he had and she quickly pointed at the door. "I need to you check he's ok."

Five pulled a face. "But he's in the bath?"

"For fuck sake Five, I think he's in trouble. I can't get in!" She jangled the doorknob for effect. "Just jump in and make sure he's ok. Please."

Maybe the whole event had rattled him too, as for once Five put up little resistance and jumped away before Allison's eyes.

Her stomach dropped as, from inside the room, she heard a pained yell from Five. "KLAUS?"

A second later the lock clicked and she rammed herself inside. The smaller man was running toward the bath but her fear soon had her taking over and reaching it first.

Klaus was under the water. His head was completely submerged with his gangly limbs flapping at the sides of the bath. Through the murk of the water she could see his eyes wide open, terrified ovals seeing something that she couldn't. His mouth was open and she felt sick watching him drown for a second time.

Together, she and Five grabbed him and dragged him from the water. They landed awkwardly on the floor, with his dripping body over hers, both gasping like fish.

Five ran and grabbed the towels Klaus had hung earlier and draped one over his lower half and gave Allison the other to wrap around his shoulders. She didn't know how long he had been under or how much water he had taken in but she knew it wasn't healthy and that even though he was breathing now, he could still drown.

"We've got to get him to Mom or Pogo." Five must have been thinking the same.

She nodded in conformation but couldn't find her voice, only finding herself able to wrap around her breathless brother, her head resting on his and her tears being lost to the droplets already covering his hair.

Five moved for them both, securing the forgotten sweatpants back around Klaus' waist and wrapping another towel around his top half. Allison moved on autopilot then as they got up and pulled Klaus up with them. Somehow he walked alongside them, half stumbling as they dragged him a little quicker than they should.

The infirmary felt miles away, the corridors stretching into some twisted nightmare horrors and the near dead weight of Klaus between them pulling their steps every which way.

Allison felt rather than saw Mom pull Klaus from them and lay him on the bed, only able to keep her eyes on his chest watching it rising and falling as someone drew her from the room.

They lost Five years ago. And then Ben. Father had died recently (even though she still didn't exactly know how to feel about that) and then they had all almost been dragged apart again by recent events. Her own throat being slit. Vanya losing control and nearly ending it all. Everything ever since to fix all that was wrong and now this. Now she had almost lost Klaus twice in a few short days.

And she didn't even dare let her mind wander to Claire, for that was still rough and painful.

"He'll be ok." She heard someone say but didn't register who it was or anything that was happening around her. Her sole focus was on the door in front of her.

X

Klaus recovered. It was a rough few days with him lying half motionless in the med bay alternating between bouts of nightmares, semi conscious hallucinations and restless sleeps. When he was awake they focused on making sure all the water was from his lungs, which sadly meant a lot of sickness and probing for their brother. Allison had been sat with him as he threw up multiple mouthfuls of water, his body trying to collapse in on itself from stress and strain. After that he had been on oxygen, with the mask somehow looking too big for his delicate face, swallowing his features beneath it. When he slept, she cried. Klaus shouldn't be that still. He was lively and gangly and everything about him was so big and yet then he had seemed so small.

The siblings took it in turns to be with him, holding his hand as he wept in his sleep or rubbing his back as he struggled for air. Even Five insisted on staying with him, going over his time by an hour and refusing to leave when Vanya came in for her slot.

Once Klaus began to recover it seemed almost too quick. It was as though he bounced awake and got on with his day like any other. Allison saw how he avoided them as best he could, ploughing straight back into his bravado act of peaches and cream. He strutted from the hospital bed and exaggerated his movements. He wore some of his fanciest clothes for the next two days and wore more make up than she'd seen since a night out in their late teens. But Allison also saw how his hands shook when they didn't have anything to do, and the way his eyes flitted around more often than usual. She also heard the shower running one morning, expecting Diego to step out of the bathroom but instead coming face to face with Number Four. She didn't say anything and neither did he, not even weeks later when the bubble bath's weren't being used and the usual aroma that drifted from the bathroom and followed Klaus wasn't there. Five jumped in once, not giving a single fuck about privacy or subtlety, and saw Klaus sat hunched over in the shower as the droplets stole and hid his tears. He didn't say anything to Klaus but Allison knew when she found their time travelling brother nursing a rather large drink and battering the bar with his fist. They'd talked to one another, discussed what needed to be done, but in the end all they could do was help when Klaus let them.

Over time Klaus had let them see him a little more, see the real him, with his vulnerabilities. Past the makeup and the skirts. He had told them a great deal more than they could have ever dreamed, with Diego punching both a wall and Luther when they found out about the mausoleum and his 'Death by Rave' as he had so bluntly put it. They had cried and laughed as he told them about Vietnam, and Dave, and about all the mischief their platoon had gotten up to when not knee deep in mud and blood. They finally understood his need for drugs and wished so hard they had realised sooner, saving him from the perils of the habit and his god awful power. On more than one occasion he had manifested Ben, and for longer periods of time, who had alternated between hugging them all and berating them for their stupidity over the years. It was a rough time for them all but something about them finally coming together and being both the team and family Reginald had attempted to make years ago made it better. It was almost a 'screw you' to him, that they had found each other and made the bond so much stronger on their own, without him lording over them all.

So Klaus recovered. He still didn't have baths but he sat by the poolside when Allison and Diego swam lengths and then one day let his legs dangle in the water as Vanya sat on the steps beside him chatting away to Ben. And one day, when he felt strong enough, he slipped into the shallow end of the pool and walked down the ramp until the water came up to his neck. He tread water for a while as Luther watched from the sidelines ready to jump in at a seconds notice. Diego was already in the pool but pretended not to notice as he continued his routine up and down. When he passed his brother he was awarded with a face full of water and at first stopped, worried that Klaus was freaking out in the pool and about ready to be dragged out. He was, however, beginning a water fight.

"You did _not _just splash me?!" Diego mock scolded, his signature scowl and gravelly voice adding drama.

"Oh. But I think I did." And Klaus splashed him again.

And that was how they got into the biggest water fight they had probably ever had. Their Father had always forbade it, saying it was childish and degrading and so there had only ever been minute splashes hidden behind the man's back in their childhood years. Word got round the household that Klaus was in the pool and beating Diego, and so it was that Allison and Vanya went running in to join as Five stayed behind. Luther dive-bombed into the pool and dislodged half of its contents, causing a wave to sweep the siblings at least a couple metres from where they floated. And when Five appeared a few moments later, spraying them with a huge water gun he had found somewhere, they fell into howls of laughter.

That night, after they had spent time together around the fire with cocoa and stories and games, Allison retreated happily to her room. As she passed the bathroom she smelt herbs and lavender and heard the tell tale tinkle of Klaus' laugh as he spoke in hushed tones to Ben.

"You best not use all the hot water up Ghost Boy!" She joked through the door.

"Too late!" He replied.

"And I really want to try that new bubble bath out, save some for me will you?"

A pause. "Erm...too late?" She stood there laughing to herself but heard a quieter mumble of, "Is she mad?" which was obviously aimed at Ben.

"That's fine, I need to nip to the store tomorrow anyway. You could come? Pick some bath bombs for yourself too!"

She heard his signature happy clap, slightly distorted from his wet hands, and a resounding 'Yay'. "It would be my honour to accompany you dear sister."

Allison laughed again before walking away.

And from somewhere down the corridor she heard Diego yelling about no hot water. Klaus hollered something back, probably insulting Luther, because in turn he added his voice to the fray and it was only when Vanya complained about not being able to focus on her violin that they all shut up.

It was somehow like being back in their childhood and a whole new dynamic all at once; they still roared at one another, taking the piss and winding each other up the walls, but they were allowed to joke around and argue down the hallways and through doors. They could behave like children without the threat of Reginald jumping in and bringing them right back down to earth. And now, when one of them was in a bad place, they banded together and got through it, unlike Reginald's 'push on regardless' attitude which ultimately lead to their downfall.

No longer would they let one another sink further into despair, they would grasp on and not let go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The mansion has a swimming pool, I decided- though it doesn't seem too much a stretch really when you look at what it's made up of.   
And that's that folks, thank you for reading and I hope it wasn't too disappointing.   
Take Care.

**Author's Note:**

> I know, first chapter is a little rough and random (I wrote this last, after the main body of plot, I can tell for sure it's an add on, sorry) but it gets into the main story next. I've yet to decide if to post the rest as one/two larger chunks or break them down into bitesize chapters (and some may be pretty short). But I have it all written so either way it will be uploaded (hopefully) on consecutive days until all complete.
> 
> I just want to say, I'm aware some of what I've written won't be accurate (i.e. drowning/medical terms/the survival of jumping in the first place) but it's fanfic so I've elected to ignore it- I mean our main guy can talk to ghosts! PLEASE let me know if you think it needs any extra tags as I know some subject areas can be quiet close hitting.  
Let me know what you think, and I shall see you soon! x


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